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Layoffs On The Horizon For Condé Nast?

With McKinsey & Co. wrapping up its work at Condé Nast, the vultures are out. Severe budget cuts are a given, and layoffs are not too much of a stretch. The question is: which publications will be hardest hit?

Last week, we reported that publishers were likely going to be asked to cut their budgets by 25 percent. That same number has shown up in articles in Crain’s New York Business and The New York Observer.

According to Crain’s, publishers have already started meeting with the company’s Chief Operating Officer John Bellando, although the actual cutting may not start until October. Reports Crain’s:

“The meetings with Mr. Bellando, which began last week and are continuing through this week, are aimed at reducing budgets at each of the company’s titles by an average of 25 percent, sources say. The editors and publishers, who will be in charge of cutting from their respective departments, will have two to three weeks to submit their budgets for approval. Staff and spending cuts could soon follow.”

The Observerreports that leaders at Details, Condé Nast Traveler and Glamour have already had meetings where they have been asked to cut budgets by about 25 percent. Gourmet and Teen Vogue have also reportedly had similar meetings where they were asked to make the same cuts. However, as previously reported, The New Yorker is immune to these cuts, The Observer said.

There is one upside: neither of these insider reports mention any titles as being at risk for closure. If these reports are to be trusted, it looks like all of Condé Nast’s remaining titles could escape the chopping block. However, their staffers may not be as lucky.